Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

The King of Modern Jazz

Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. Perhaps the greatest figure in jazz history with five decades of experience under his belt. He has written and composed over a thousand songs to be used on stage, screen, and simply in regular recital. Ellington created a notably unique form of the Western style of Jazz music and continued playing his self-proclaimed "American Music" up to the day he died, May 24, 1974. He never once lost his tempo.